SVR Developers Vs Assistant Commissioner (FAC) (Madras High Court)
The Madras High Court disposed of a writ petition challenging an order passed in FORM GST DRC-07 dated 22.04.2024 for the assessment year 2018-19. The petitioner, engaged in renting immovable property, stated that it had rental and amenities income totaling ₹2,96,32,793 on which applicable GST had already been paid. The petitioner contended that it was under a bona fide belief that filing of GSTR-9 Annual Return was inapplicable and that GSTR-9C was also not applicable since the aggregate turnover was below ₹5 crore. As no reply had been filed to the show cause notice, the proposal in the notice was confirmed through the impugned order.
The High Court noted that the issue was covered by an earlier decision of the Court in Ms. Kandan Hardware Mart vs. Assistant Commissioner (ST)(FAC). In that decision, the Court had considered the effect of Notification No.7/2023-Central Tax dated 31.03.2023, as amended by Notification No.25/2023-Central Tax dated 17.07.2023, relating to waiver and reduction of late fee for delayed filing of annual returns in GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C.
The earlier judgment referred to the decision of the Himachal Pradesh High Court in M/s. R.T. Pharma vs. Union of India, where it was held that taxpayers who had filed annual returns before issuance of the amnesty notification should also receive the benefit of reduced late fee. The Madras High Court had held that the benefit of the notifications should extend to taxpayers who filed returns before 01.04.2023.
